Alie Ward

I'm sure that they've gotten safer and safer, but can you dispel any myths about unsafe ceramics?

Okay, let's get into this.

So there have been a lot of videos where people go to houseware stores and test new stuff for lead and find an alarmingly high percentage of home goods mugs with lead in them.

Although Mercedes was telling me that she just saw one in her algorithm last night and she followed it all the way into this tunnel of sus because the guy testing the housewares and posting some of these videos also owns the company that makes the device he was using for testing.

And their own legal disclaimer on Amazon, she found out, points out that it's not an EPA approved method.

So you can take that leaded cup with a grain of salt.

But it's not unheard of.

There is a risk.

There have been case reports of families with abnormally high lead and then doctors later discovered that they were using imported traditional ceramics from around the world.

The ones with the highest levels of lead were usually from places like Mexico or Ecuador, Turkey, Morocco, Uzbekistan.

Those have been found to have the highest levels of lead, according to a New York City health report from 2021.

And the report continued that although individuals with elevated blood levels may not look or feel sick, exposure to lead can cause some serious health problems.

Now, in children, lead exposure can cause learning and behavior problems.

In adults, it can increase blood pressure and affect the brain and the kidneys and reproductive organs.

Exposure to lead during pregnancy can increase the risk of miscarriage and affect an unborn baby.

So if you are prone to being afraid of lead poisoning, the word from health departments like New York is stay away from using ceramicware labeled for use only as a decorative item.

or that contains a warning label such as, not for food use, may poison food.

Also stay away from using antique ceramic ware or damaged or worn ceramic ware.

And it also cautions against using ceramics that are irregular in shape or purchased from flea markets or street vendors, which sounds like the New York City Health Department is just being like, don't use sketch pottery.

But that also seems like very highly subjective.